This invention relates generally to a new and improved relief valve assembly and more specifically, to a relief valve assembly which is utilized with a refillable container to limit the pressure in the container and which can be readily cleaned between fillings of the container.
Many relief valve assemblies have been utilized to limit the pressure in various types of containers. Some of these known relief valve assemblies are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,002,648; 1,685,918; 1,459,817 and 132,918.
Although known relief valve assemblies are more or less satisfactory for use in many different environments, difficulty has been encountered in providing a satisfactory relief valve for use in association with a pressurized container of soft drinks or syrup for making soft drinks. This difficulty is due in part to the fact that the relief valve assembly must be exposed to the atmosphere in order to enable it to vent the interior of the container upon the occu-rence of excessive pressures within the container. Since the relief valve assembly is exposed to the atmosphere, dirt and other foreign particles from the atmosphere can enter the relief valve assembly and cause bacteria to grow in cracks and crevices between components of the relief valve assembly. In addition, the interior of the relief valve assembly must be exposed to the syrup in the container and the syrup may seep into the cracks and crevices and also promote the growth of bacteria. Since the soft drink syrup will be consumed without processing in such a manner as to kill bacteria, the growth of any bacteria in association with the relief valve assembly is to be avoided. In addition, when the container is refilled with soft drink syrup, it is desirable to be able to clean the relief valve assembly with a minimum of difficulty.